NEW YORK — A federal judge has given the green light to a lawsuit challenging how the New York Police Department carries out its stop-and-frisk policies aimed at reducing crime. Judge Shira Scheindlin in Manhattan is letting proceed a lawsuit that challenges the city’s policies as biased, particularly toward blacks and Hispanics. The judge said […]

NEW YORK — Several alleged members of the “Crips” gang were arrested in Brooklyn after posting about a “Crip Holiday” on Twitter. The NYPD’s gang unit, which recently started a separate unit to monitor Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites received a “tip” about a gathering in Amersfort Park in East Flatbush. The New […]

NEW YORK — In New Brunswick, N.J., a building superintendent opened the door to apartment No. 1076 one balmy Tuesday and discovered an alarming scene: terrorist literature strewn about the table and computer and surveillance equipment set up in the next room. The panicked superintendent dialed 911, sending police and the FBI rushing to the […]

NEW YORK — The NYPD has formed a unit to monitor social media outlets Facebook, Twitter and Myspace to find out information about illegal flash mobs, house parties and gang fights. The New York Daily News reports: Newly named Assistant Commissioner Kevin O’Connor, one of the department’s online and gang gurus, has been put in […]

NEW YORK — Officer Daniel Hernandez is suing the NYPD for denying him overtime after he shot and paralyzed Ahmed Evans who is suing Hernandez over the shooting. The New York Daily News reports: Officer Daniel Hernandez claims that as a result of being kept off the street since July 2008, he’s been “damaged in […]

NEW YORK — Two female African American police officers have made history by becoming the first top cops to command a city precinct. Deputy Inspector Juanita Holmes and Capt. Vanessa Kight are now the top cops at Brooklyn’s 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvestant. Women comprise 17.2% of uniformed officers in the NYPD. African-Americans make up 16.5% […]

NEW YORK — Tyre Davis, a 17-year-old from the Bronx is claiming that NYPD officers, Joseph Murphy and Jose Ocasio, beat him after he made a comment about “doo-doo” when one of the officers stepped in dog excrement. The New York Daily News reports: He said Murphy and Ocasio followed him when he was released […]

I can’t seem to erase the conjured images of New York City Police Department officers, savagely beating patrons outside Tammany Hall from my psyche. I didn’t witness it personally, but the bit of video footage caught on camera was enough to fill me with rage. The riot that occurred on Tuesday, June 28, in which […]

NEW YORK — Last night at a release party for Pete Rock and Smif N Wessun’s album, “Monumental,” police got into several physical altercations with fans, family members and supporters of the artists. Rapper Pete Rock claimed on Twitter  he saw police beat another woman: “Deez police are outta hand, i saw them beat up […]

NEW YORK — The New York City Police Department is changing its stop and frisk forms, so cops can check off reasons for using force. The “Reason For Force Used” field allows cops to check off a box of six selections: suspect reaching for suspected weapon, suspect flight, defense of self, defense of other and […]

NEW YORK — 100 years ago Tuesday, the New York Police Department welcomed its first Black officer, Samuel Jesse Battle, championing color barriers and becoming the first Black sergeant and lieutenant. However, at 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, Battle faced racial opposition. Though he scored high enough for an appointment with the police department, upon showing up […]

NEW YORK — Former NYPD officer Jorge Arbaje-Diaz was sentenced to 20 years in jail for robbing drug dealers. Arbaje-Dia claimed he turned to robbing drug dealers to make mortgage payments on his new house. The New York Daily News reports: Defense lawyer Priya Chaudhry tried to win sympathy for his client in sentencing papers […]